A judge in Georgia has ruled that state lawmakers can subpoena the Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis as part of an investigation into whether she committed misconduct during her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump.
In his Dec. 23 order, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram gave Willis until Jan. 13 to file a list of privileges claimed and objections to all subpoenas.
Willis plans to appeal the decision.
“We believe the ruling is wrong and will appeal,” former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, who is representing Willis in the case, wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is seen in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer, Getty Images)
Earlier this month, an appeals court expelled Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Trump and others, citing an “appearance of impropriety.” The panel also noted the romantic relationship between Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
“This is the rare case in which exclusion is ordered and no other remedy is sufficient to restore public confidence in the integrity of this process,” the court said.
At the time, Trump called the case a “disgrace to justice.”
“It was launched by Biden’s Justice Department as an attack on his political opponent Donald Trump,” he said. “They took advantage of anyone and everyone, and she got disqualified, and her boyfriend got disqualified, and they stole money and kept traveling.”
President-elect Donald Trump shows at AmericaFest on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. On Monday, Trump vowed that the Justice Department would pursue the death penalty after President Biden voted to commute the death sentences of 37 inmates. (AP Photo/Rick Scooteri)
In August, the Republican-led Senate committee sent subpoenas to Willis to force her to testify in September. She skipped a hearing that month when lawmakers hoped to question her.
The committee was formed to investigate allegations of misconduct against Willis during her prosecution of Trump over her efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 election loss in Georgia.
FANI WILLIS WAS “SCARED” BECAUSE HER CASE AGAINST TRUMP WAS “WEAK,” LAWYER SAYS
Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade. (Getty Images)
Barnes, Willis’ attorney, argued that the subpoenas were too broad and unrelated to a legitimate legislative need and that the Senate committee had no authority to subpoena them in the first place.
One issue raised is that Georgia’s legislative session ends when lawmakers are sworn in for their new term on Jan. 13. Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal said last week that he plans to file a bill to reinstate the committee early in the 2025 legislative session.
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“The law is clear and the ruling confirms what we knew all along,” Dolezal wrote in a text Friday. “Judge Ingram rejected every argument Willis made in attempting to avoid testifying under oath before the committee. I look forward to Attorney Willis complying with the subpoena and providing documents and testimony to our committee.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
